Is Coney Island’s famed Boardwalk becoming a sidewalk?
The city is now replacing the wood planks on the Riegelmann Boardwalk with large concrete slabs from Ocean Parkway to Brighton First Road.
The slabs will have a tan hue and be textured to resemble pebbles and sand, said John Natoli, the Parks Department’s chief engineer.
He added that concrete will be more durable than wood and last “100 years instead of 30 or 40 years” — but fans of the classic wood planks were having none of it.
The traditional wood planks will be a key component on the Boardwalk near the area’s traditional amusement area, from West 10th Street to Stillwell Avenue.
After the summer, Parks will examine the wear and tear on the Boardwalk to determine which materials — the concrete in Brighton Beach, the wood by the amusements or some synthetic lumber planks on Steeplechase Pier — hold up best.
That material will be used if additional portions of the Boardwalk are replaced.
(Read More: Brookyn Paper / YWN-4705)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
The Parks Dept has a good point but isn’t the esthetics of the Boardwalk part of its charm? And isn’t the Parks Dept supposed to uphold and protect esthetics too? Boardwalks just plain look better and feel better with wood.